


The Embarrassment Scavenger Hunt

by Etnoe



Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies)
Genre: Baby Groot, Fluff, Gen, Post-Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Team Dynamics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-25
Updated: 2014-12-25
Packaged: 2018-03-03 01:41:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2833511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Etnoe/pseuds/Etnoe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's no better way to keep busy during interstellar travel than to make fun of your friends. (And try to make them happy.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Embarrassment Scavenger Hunt

**Author's Note:**

> For [this prompt](http://comment-fic.livejournal.com/573958.html?thread=80246022#t80246022): Baby Groot +any, new sprigs of green
> 
> * * *

"Rocket's blushing," Quill said. "I can tell."

Nobody ought to waste attention on statements like that, but noooo, things wouldn't be that sensible on board this ship. Drax was OK because he just grunted to show he'd heard, pretty polite what with being the one busy with navigation duty and probably not caring. But from the corner of his eye Rocket saw Gamora's head go up sharply, and _that_ was trouble.

She looked from Quill to Rocket. "He is," she said, sounding much the same as Quill with a narrowed-eyes vibe to her voice. A bloodhound sorta aura. Rocket refused to look up from his toolbox to confirm. "The body language is quite similar to a lot of humanoid species', once you spot it, but still ... nicely done, Peter. The fur does make it a challenge to realise. Are you going to start a con on your new mark, now that you've found an in?"

"Oh, for crying out loud. Don't even go there," Rocket yelled, shaking a spanner at them, and was roundly ignored.

"I am always telling you, Gamora, I've got talents. And as for your question - I believe I will."

Rocket wasn't even doing anything with his toolbox. He was rooting around to try and look like he was busy and because it felt nice to have solid things in hand while his thoughts insisted on running in silly little circles. If they looked into this he was screwed.

"This is foolish," Drax said, looking at them over his shoulder. "You cannot trick Rocket if you announce attempts at deceit in front of him." An eyebrow arched. "If you have time for 'fun'" ( _I like all that judgment, Drax, keep it up_ ) "one of you has time to bring me a drink."

It took a lot for Rocket not to run off and make him a three-course meal for the sake of having an excuse to leave, but that would really make the other two sit up and take notice. Quill started off towards the galley, dragging his feet and doing some of his finest whining about how Drax never remembered to stock up on snacks when it was his turn to do sit-down jobs, and then paused at the cockpit door. "Hey, Gamora. First one to find out what's up with Rocket wins!"

Then he ran. It made Drax sigh. "A liar and cheat..." But he looked fond enough as he turned back to the nav panel.

Gamora stiffened, but stayed lounging in her chair. "Well, Madame Deadly Bored?" Rocket sneered. "You decided you ain't feeling dizzy enough to start up trouble?"

"I'm considering my options." Gamora slanted him a look that came just before a smile. "And now I have a challenge from you as well as Peter. Perhaps I should hurry after all."

There she went. Soldier-child of Thanos, off on a really dumb scavenger hunt alongside the most ridiculous known Terran to be inflicted on the wider galaxy - it boggled even the titanium-reinforced mind.

Rocket thought about them finding out, because they probably would. He shoved his toolbox, blushing harder.

*

An in-depth detour through the ship's communications log (revealed by an icon that appeared on the computer screen Drax was using, which he'd called Rocket over to interpret, indicating that the log had been locked to all users but one) and some rifling through Rocket's porn stash ( _of course, Peter Quill, of course you would_ ) later, the scavenger hunters did a shipwide announcement to make sure Rocket was back in the cockpit when they made their 'triumphant return'. He went - might as well get it over with, since escape would be a lot of work for basically no return; and surely this heated face bullshit reflex had to weaken through exposure? Worth a shot, right? He kept wanting to fan himself like a priss.

The return consisted of Quill carrying a sandwich and beverage and Gamora bringing Groot in his easy-carry pot with the handles. Rocket groaned. It looked like Gamora had won since she was the one holding Groot, but neither mentioned it. She was busy grinning with real delight, Quill was ... Yep. Cooing. All d'aaaws and bright eyes, not a shred of shame to his name.

"He can wag it. Rocket! He can wag it!" Quill said as he handed the food to Drax, who'd swung his chair around to look at the rest of them.

Ears frigging burning, Rocket glared at Groot.

"And he's got the moss growing in different shades, and the effect mimics your bands of colour! See?" Gamora dumped the carry-pot in front of Rocket.

He was faced with Groot's back - and Groot's new vine tail. It uncurled upward slowly, showing off the light and darker shades of the moss fluffed all along it, then curled back down to drape around Groot's legs.

Quill crooned Groot's name like his brain was melting, and that wasn't even his tail as the grand new physiological feature there.

"The symbolism's beautiful, you guys," Quill said, forgetting himself enough to try and steal half of the sandwich from Drax the Destroyer. Voice muffled from sucking on his injured fingers, he continued, "So touching. No wonder you're freaking out, like, in your heart, Rocket."

All three of the humies were staring down at him, Quill and Gamora with that look people got when they wanted to pet and didn't realise that he'd want to bite if they did. It was at once better and worse that it was his friends being aggravating that way. Groot caught on to his mood and started explaining himself to the others like he had earlier to Rocket, when Rocket had gone to keep him company in the sun room.

"It's totally practical," he protested on Groot's behalf. "He says it's tough for him to get around on two legs again, especially when he's travelling further than between different pots, is all. So the tail's for _balance_. That is pretty much exactly what any given tail is for! So..."

So it didn't matter. He was repeating Groot's meaning exactly, and it all sounded like the kind of thing you told a guy to make him feel better about his squishy emotions oozing out of all his glands and way out there into the atmosphere. Especially now that Groot was smiling at Rocket like he didn't know a single thing to be fonder of, and not even because of how dumb this little old tree could get.

"Liar," he whisper-snapped at Groot.

"Nonsense! It's perfectly true," said Gamora, she of the enhanced hearing that no decent humie ought to have, damn it. "That is a very well-known fact. Good idea, Groot."

"Soon you will be walking and growing stronger again!" Drax said with a beaming smile, then turned murder-intense. " _And dancing._ "

"I am Groot," the little bastard replied, admitting to nothing.

Drax bit vigorously into his sandwich. "One day, my friend. One day, I will catch you." And then he whipped around in time to completely miss that Quill had been boogying behind him. Quill pretended to buff his nails on his shirtfront.

They all needed things to keep busy with during the time spent travelling. None of those things had turned out to be arson or murder yet, and despite the gooey looks no one had actually pet him, so things were basically going great. The humies weren't even rubbing it in any further, though deep in Rocket's bitter little heart he knew this was going to come back as blackmail. Quill had probably taken pictures.

Rocket let the humies turn to annoying each other and sidled up next to Groot. He could indulge quickly while they were distracted.

He curled his tail. More slowly, Groot did the same with his vine-tail - probably still getting the hang of how to make this kind of movement. Even Groot didn't always know all the things he could do.

This didn't have to be merely a case of Groot being sappy in the metaphorical as well as the literal sense, Rocket told himself. It could be practical too (and that was a good defence, if the others started trying to give him grief again); he and Groot could probably work out another method of covert communication using this.

Using this little thing that made Rocket more like someone else, and someone else like him. It really did look similar to his. Kind of, sort of, greenly. Their tails curled into each other for just a second.

He leaned an elbow on the rim of Groot's pot and spoke as softly as he could. "Yeah. Fine," he told Groot, meaning that he was pleased and thankful and peeved and giddy and happy and every bit of all the other bullshit this had sucked out of him, because he could play the match-up game too. He had learned very well how to make a few words mean a lot.


End file.
